Saving Ziva
by SpecialAgentZiva
Summary: 24 hours ago, the days had been normal. 15 hours ago, they'd realized the link. Now, they have nothing left to be sure of. - How far would the team go to save one of their own?
1. 24 hours

**A/N: Bonjour; another story for you. I should probably be doing Get Out Alive, but, I don't know. No inspiration right now. But anyway, I hope you enjoy this fic. The first chapter is extraordinarily short, I know, but don't worry, it's just a basic introduction. After this, things will be far longer. So... enjoy.**

**Oh, I don't own NCIS, but I can pretend I do.**

24 hours ago, the days had been normal.

24 hours ago, they hadn't had a murder investigation.

18 hours ago, they'd discovered the body.

15 hours ago, they'd realized the link.

12 hours ago, they'd tried to protect her.

8 hours ago, they'd lost that protection.

5 hours ago, they'd watched her leave.

3 hours ago, they'd silently prayed for her.

1 hour ago, they'd almost given up hope.

Now, they have nothing left to be sure of.

Was any of it real?

Was all of it fake?

Was she really who they'd thought?

Was she just another person they'd watch die?

Was she destined to fail?

* * *

_His eyes, light as day, trained on her as she paced the room._

_Her eyes, dark as night, betrayed only her worst fears._

_She's counting down the moments until there's nothing left,_

_And he's counting down the moments until it's too late to save her._


	2. I Would Kill

**A/N: Well, another relatively short chapter I guess. But never fear! It will get longer. This story needs a bit of an introduction to it though, before we get to the whole "Saving Ziva" part. You might get a little confused if I started with the "Now" part from the last chapter. xD FYI, this is from the very beginning - aka, starting at "24 hours ago" and continuing to "18 hours ago." Basically it's a countdown? I don't know... Anyway, enjoy.**

**I don't own NCIS, though I'd love to.**

_The world had long since stopped around them_

_Though they knew nothing, not in the beginning_

_Yet it would all come to light in one simple move_

_And they'd be forced to question what they'd never questioned before

* * *

_

Bleak rays of sunlight tainted the night sky as the sun slowly rose over DC, the morning still and quiet. A light wind filtered through the grass, disturbing nothing more than the dew sitting delicately upon each blade. It was a picture of peace, of quiet; even those who woke at such a time hardly unbalanced this perfection. Whispers of shoes as they hit the sidewalk could barely be heard, and those present to hear paid no mind to the slight sound.

Amongst the few early morning runners, Ziva David stood out quite easily. Her clothing was nothing out of the ordinary; except, perhaps, for the neon orange hat she wore, a memoir of a time so long ago. She moved almost mechanically, as if she'd run the route a thousand times and knew it well. Music blasted in her ears but she barely caught the words, forcing her senses to remain tuned to the outside world. This was routine, and one she found quite soothing. Her run was nearly at its end now, but nevertheless she forced a steady pace.

This was her strict regime, her impossible schedule. By the time she'd reached her own apartment once again, the world seemed to be waking up. Good; this was the way she'd always preferred it. Living alone, she could easily forget the world's demands as she prepared for work. And it was with this thought that she showered, dressed, and ultimately ready herself for whatever work would have to throw at her today.

Later, she'd realize that she was never quite prepared enough.

The drive to NCIS was short, her nimble fingers easily steering her car through what little traffic there was. She paid attention only to the road, never stopping to take in much more of her surroundings than what was directly in front of her. It wasn't long before she was sitting at her desk, counting the minutes until Gibbs arrived, and soon after counting the moments until McGee would arrive. She never bothered counting for Tony; he was hardly ever punctual, let alone consistent.

It was just after 8 by the time they'd all settled in. She'd been too tired to pay attention to anything, really, only typed numbly. Today was just another day of boredom; they'd had no murder investigations, no crimes to solve lately. Everything seemed to have been working in slow motion, with nothing but paperwork in front of her.

By 10, she'd nearly died of boredom. Even Tony's constant chatter did nothing to keep her entertained. Frustration was building up. She found herself only counting the minutes until lunch hour. Time only moved ever-so-slowly when she wanted it not to, she thought, growing more frustrated. Finally, she simply pulled her hands away from the keyboard and ground them into her head.

"Ziva, you okay?" came a voice. McGee's. She didn't look up but removed her hands from her face.

"Too much paperwork. I would kill for a case right now," Ziva replied. She drew a deep breath and returned her hands to the keyboard, wracking her brain on what to say next. The squad room remained in silence for a few moments, before footsteps caused them all to look up.

Gibbs.

His presence was greeted with more than happiness. Grins spread across each of the team member's faces. He stopped for a moment, staring at all of them, before he spoke.

"Gear up! We've got a dead petty officer."

The agents were up in a flash, each one snatching up their bags and silently thanking the world for another case. While they didn't particularly like serial killers, it _was_ infinitely better to be in the field than sitting at desks. Gibbs threw the keys in the air, and Ziva caught them easily, her hand just above Tony's. With a sly grin, she made her way to the elevator, without looking behind her.

The ride to ground floor was smooth and silent, as was the car ride - the absence of bickering slightly perplexed her, but she decided not to disturb the calm. Perhaps there would be peace, if only for a small time.

Oh, how wrong she was.

**A/N: Bonus for those of you who spotted (BUT WILL NOT SAY) the foreshadowing. xD**


	3. A Gun To Her Head

**A/N: Yay, an updated story. :) I had fun writing this chapter, though it's not the most actiony in the world. Please enjoy.**

**I don't own NCIS, though if I did, I would have my own NCIS hat. With a 9 mm hole in it.**

_She knew from the beginning - something was wrong._

_In the days and the hours to come, she'd only wish she'd listened to the feeling._

_Blood on her hands and dirt on her face she could stand_

_If only the blood was hers.

* * *

_

A silent car ride was ended abruptly as the car stopped roughly, the NCIS team exiting before the vehicle was truly off. There was a sense of unexplained urgency today - a pull towards this case that none of them understood, and only thought was part of the thrill of the case. But something was off. Ziva was slightly uneasy as she swung her bag over her shoulder, trailing behind the senior field agent.

Everything seemed normal. As normal as could be for a murder investigation, at least. Yet the uneasy feeling refused to subside as the team surrounded the murder victim, their curious eyes trailing over every inch of the victim's body. Instantly, there was a ripple of sympathy for the young victim. Through years of experience, they'd lost most feeling, but not all. They'd learned to push cases like this to the back of their minds, yet nevertheless there was sympathy present, and wonder.

It looked as if this victim had been slain in an absolute rage, for the blood-encrusted cuts were far from few. The blood around her was littered with her own blood, which they were careful to step away from. They'd had cases like this before, but this seemed different, somehow. Each felt their own individual uneasiness, if only for a second, but it stayed only with Ziva, who looked on with eyes that lied and silent words waiting to be spoken.

She wasn't sure exactly what she was afraid of, because none of it really made sense. Later, she could have only wished that she'd known in the first place, because, as her world would go to hell, she'd be helpless in the end. A gun to her head would be just as sweet, and far more preferable in the hours to come.

* * *

"Gibbs! Gibbs, you gotta see this," Abby was truly bouncing as she moved through her lab, a huge grin spread across her face and a childish joy in her eyes. Often, her coworkers would wonder how she could be so happy when her job was dealing constantly with blood and death - but then again, theirs was as well. The mystery of her childlike innocence would never be revealed to them, they'd assumed, but perhaps someday she'd share her secret.

"Woah, Abs, calm down!" Tony grinned at her as she pulled Gibbs to her laptop and stopped abruptly. The team leader almost fell over (much to the entertainment of his coworkers), barely regaining his balance as Abby's hands flew over the keyboard, pulling up everything she needed. With a final click of a button and triumphant "ta-DA!", they all turned their attention to the screen.

"Okay, so, I ran the DNA that Ducky gave me, and well, I have a match for you. Say hello to Petty Officer Alisha Taylor, recently moved to… not far from here. I'll have an exact address for you soon, because everywhere I've checked denies her existence. It's kind of cool, isn't it? Nobody actually knows who this Ms. Taylor is. Maybe she goes by another name, like they do in the movies. You know the one, Tony, where-"

"Don't even get him started." Ziva shook her head at Abby's words, a smile on her face. Only Abby could get away with talking faster than the speed of light, and trailing off like this, without receiving a slap from the Bossman himself.

"Right. Anyway, she's kind of a mystery right now. But I _did_ find something else," another loud click sounded, and an image of smudged blood appeared on the screen. When she didn't speak, the rest of the team only turned to the forensic scientist, slightly confused. They saw smudged blood all the time. What was so special about this?

"Do you want me to explain, or are you gonna guess? Come on Gibbs, it's so much fun to guess!" she was silenced by a look from her boss, deciding to share her information rather than playing the guessing game. "Okay, well, I might be able to get a print off this. Which means…"

"We could get our killer. Good work, Abbs," a proud smile on his face, Gibbs lightly kissed her head, causing the other team members to smile at this exchange. There was something special between these two that never seemed to apply to the rest of them. Gibbs didn't seem to notice the smiles and only turned to leave, beckoning his team with a wave of his hand. As they reached the door, however, a shrill beep sounded, and they all turned around in synch.

"Gibbs! Oh my God, Gibbs, you have to see this."


	4. Oh, What The Hell?

**A/N: Okay, yeah, short chapters. But I like the chapters short? It should get longer and more exciting later, but I have no guarantee. I go wherever the muse decides to take me. Which is... well, here.**

**I don't own NCIS. Enjoy.

* * *

**

**15 hours ago, they'd realized the link.**

_The world stopped around them._

_Silent, no words needed._

_Blood pounded in her head and heart,_

_Only outmatched by the screaming in her head.

* * *

_

"Gibbs, I got a match!" Abby was positively beaming as she whipped around to face the computer in front of her, beckoning to her boss with the hand that wasn't on the mouse. He complied, carefully making his way back to her side with his team shadowing him, each eager to know exactly what Abby found. They stared at the screen expectantly, but the moment the match came up, their hearts stopped.

Nothing moved for many seconds, each person staring in utter shock. Panic clouded his mind while screams crowded hers, each unable to move as they stared. How was this right? The blood… it didn't make sense. Finally, the world began to move again, as McGee reached for the monitor and shut off the screen. The black screen seemed to wake each and every one of them, and they turned to face the person in question.

"Oh, my God" mixed with, "What the hell?" and "Ziver, explain yourself." It turned into an odd mix that she barely understood, translating it in her head as "Oh, my, what the, explain!" She only stared blankly in response, her mouth hanging open in shock.

The room remained silent for another few heartbeats, before Gibbs shot a glare at each agent and spoke directly to Ziva. "Ziva, care to explain what your fingerprint was doing on Petty Officer Taylor's body?"

"Gibbs, I… it could have been a setup, couldn't it? I didn't… This has happened… Tony, you know… I didn't…" none of her coworkers seemed to understand her at all, only catching bits and pieces of her jumbled sentences as she spoke, faster than Abby after a few dozen Caf-Pows.

If her luck was bad, then she must have underestimated to what extent her horrible luck could go, for at the door, appeared the Director. His eyes traveled to the agents in front of him and finally to the screen, before settling back on the agents. The gaze was hard, cold, accusing. "I'm calling the FBI."

"What?" another uproar sounded. At least this time they all spoke the same words, shocked both by the appearance of Director Vance and his words. What good would it do to call the FBI? This was their case, their grounds!

"You heard me. This is officially an internal investigation. Gibbs, Fornell will have to keep you updated, but you are all taken off the case. Agent David, my office. _Now._"

In an instant, Gibbs was in front of Ziva, purposely blocking her way to the Director. His jaw and fists clenched, he simply glared at the other man as his agents stood behind and beside him, though none summoned the courage to be so forthright in their protection of Ziva.

"Director Vance, this is a misunderstanding," she spoke at once, attempting to step around Gibbs but only to find him shifting with her. "I probably tore a glove at the crime scene."

"Your fingerprint is on the body," he pointed out. "And I don't believe that you touched the body when you were at the crime scene, did you?"

"No, but-"

"But nothing. David, you are to come with me. Special Agent Gibbs, move now or you will regret it. I'm calling Fornell in a second, he should be here any time soon. Be prepared, he'll want to talk to each and every one of you."

Faced with no other choice, the silver haired man moved, but not before squeezing Ziva's hand in gentle reassurance that everything would be okay. The team was forced to watch her leave, though she paused at the doorway, giving a slight nod to show that she could do this, she would be strong - for them, if not for her.

Millions of questions and thoughts whirled in each team member's mind, but only Tony, fiercely glaring, bothered to voice his thoughts.

"That _bastard._"


End file.
